Welcome. President Dave Bechtel opened the meeting at
7:05 and asked everyone at the meeting to introduce themselves.

Announcements and Committee
Updates:

Dave noted that the WCA Board has reviewed the draft Hamden Plan of Conservation and Development and prepared comments. He provided an overview of our response. The WCA’s comments have been circulated to the Ridge Hill and Spring Glen Civic Associations with the thought of consolidating all three CA’s comments in one letter. However, we will file our own comments separately to ensure they are received in time.

The 3rd Annual Library Fundraiser will be held on May 3rd. Previous events have raised about $2,000 in each year.

Library Committee member Kari Nordstrom made a plan for improvements to the branch that has begun to be implemented. The Town Librarian is working with the committee to implement the plan.

Treasurer’s Report:

$1285.25 in the WCA bank account

$347.82 in the Garden Club account

Officer Elections

There will be elections for the offices of President and Treasurer at the May WCA meeting.

Term limits require a new President, while the Treasurer can be filled by the incumbent. Deb Maldonado is willing to continue if no one else is interested.

Upcoming Legislative Session. Dave introduced State Rep. Mike D’Agostino
who provided an over view of the forthcoming legislative session. He noted that many of the new Democratic
members are from Fairfield County, which should add an interesting dynamic to
the process.

Governor
Lamont is working on his budget proposal.
The overall budget will be in the range of $20 billion with a current
deficit of $1.4 billion. Unless revenue
can be raised – such as enacting highway tolls – cuts in service will have to occur.

He noted
that state employees may be asked for more givebacks, but that further cuts to
pay and benefits will be detrimental to the retention of quality staff.

Town aid
is another area that could experience cuts.
Those in turn could have an effect on Hamden’s mil rate, which is
already one of the highest in the state.

Health
and social programs such as HUSKY may have cuts.

Mike
urged the WCA membership to contact other legislators representing Hamden to
ensure their help in mitigating the economic impact on our town.

Mike is
working on legislation that would change the Education Cost Sharing (ECS) formula
to account for each town’s actual ECS needs.
He noted that while Hamden is a relatively affluent town, our student
population isn’t.

Mike has
dialogue with the Town regarding Hamden’s needs in the upcoming session. He’s prepared a bill to allow municipalities
to assess a public safety fee on college students. Another bill would relieve towns of the need
to provide transportation services for private school students. A third would
permit municipalities to have different mil rates for residential and
non-residential properties.

Mike
discussed some large bonding projects for which Hamden is working to secure
state funding.

New
firehouse(s) and a training facility.

Alice
Peck and West Woods school renovations.

The Town
is also looking to secure funding that would provide a universal Pre-K program.

There
was a discussion of the lack of an adequate juvenile justice facility in
Connecticut. Mike mentioned that, while
he has put in a bill to transfer the High Meadows property on Hartford
Turnpike, DCF is considering it as a site for a new facility. Connie Matheson noted that there is currently
a need for a 60 bed locked facility.
Mike offered to arrange a tour of High Meadows.

The
meeting was opened for questions:

There was a discussion of plans to stop net metering (for electricity).

There was a suggestion that traffic calming strategies need to be implemented on Augur Street.

Construction status of the Waite Street bridge is unknown. See the May 2018 meeting notes for a discussion with the Town Engineer on initial plans.

There was a discussion of the potential for traffic calming and parking on Whitney Avenue, a state route. Mike is having a meeting with the new Transportation Commissioner and will raise the issue.

A new adult marijuana bill will come before Mike’s committee. It looks like this one won’t be smoked like last year’s.

Mike also noted that there is thought being given to a state-wide, rather than municipal, property tax by the General Assembly.

Please join us on Thursday, January 17 at 7:00 pm at the Hamden Board of Education, 60 Putnam Avenue, for our next Whitneyville Civic Association meeting. Our local state representative, Mike D’Agostino will discuss the upcoming legislative session and answer your questions.

More than 30 people packed the Whitneyville Branch Library last evening for the latest “Evening in the Stacks” event co-sponsored by the Civic Association and Hamden Public Library. Bruce Coffin, read excerpts from The Long Light of Those Days, his memoir about growing up in Woodstock, Vermont.

The event featured great conversations with neighbors and the author, book signing, and delicious snacks (including homemade donuts from our favorite librarian).

Dave noted that Wine 101 was celebrating their second anniversary with wine tastings on Friday and Saturday.

Dave stated that the meeting at the Children’s Center had been well received and well attended. Connie Matheson noted that the October community meeting with the Children’s Center had been cancelled. Updates on the Children’s Center will be presented as they arise. Dave noted that the state’s only locked facility for minors is closed and that about 60 children who need that environment are being placed elsewhere in the system on a temporary basis.

Dave and Mike Lockett (Ridge Hill Civic Association) met with Mayor Leng, who provided an update regarding the new street lights. An application has been made to the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) to permit towns to purchase their own street lights. This may improve negotiations with United Illuminating in the future.

Committee Updates. WCA committee updates included:

Treasurer. The WCA has $1,089 in the bank. The Garden Committee has $347 saved. All Whitneyville residents are invited to join the WCA as voting members.

The plan is revised every 10 years. Dave noted that the town’s November and December meetings are an opportunity for public input. He then opened a discussion regarding what members of the WCA wanted to see in the plan. A lively discussion by the membership ensued.

The following issues were raised in the discussion:

Expanded regionalization of services. The regional Health District was cited as a successful example.

Improved mass transit, including consideration of different modes, such as trolley and monorail.

Improved parking in the business district, including the possibility of a parking structure with ground level businesses if a location can be identified.

Traffic calming improvements on Whitney Avenue.

Adding a left turn arrow at the intersection of Putnam Avenue and Newhall Street.

Fill in of gaps in the sidewalk network.

Improved access to the Farmington Canal State Park Trail.

Examination of alternatives for the reuse of the Board of Education (BOE) Building should the BOE relocate.

Public access to Lake Whitney, including kayaking.

A town-wide tree planting plan.

Continued farmland preservation in the town.

Creation of passive recreational space on the Powder Farm property.

The discussion also included issues related to improving the Whitneyville community in general. Suggestions included:

A Halloween parade for children

Movie Night at DeNicola Park

A town-wide community calendar

Business of the Month promotions

A winter social event

Possibility of making the Ralston Street New Year’s Ball Droop as an official event

Consideration of possible locations for sledding

Future Meetings:

Dave noted that he had invited Representative Mike D’Agostino to speak at the January meeting regarding the new gubernatorial administration and General Assembly. (Mike subsequently accepted.)

Mark Foran has contact information for a retired Hamden firefighter who has a presentation on the history of the Hamden Fire Department. His recent appearance at the Dunbar Civic Association was well received.

Welcome. This meeting was held at the Children’s Center of Hamden, 1400 Whitney Avenue. President Dave Bechtel called the meeting to order about 7:10. He welcomed everyone and thanked the Children’s Center for hosting the meeting and providing the snacks and beverages.

Announcements:

Michael Ross has resigned as Chair of the Library Committee

At the Board of Ed Operations committee meeting on Monday, September 24, there will be a presentation of the revised report from the consultants working on “Rethink, Restructure, Revise” plan for Hamden schools. The meeting will be at 7:00 pm at the Hamden Middle School.

There will be a Town-Wide Forum on LED Streetlights – Sat. Sept. 29, 2-4pm, Hamden High School. Room C-107.

Committee Updates. WCA committee updates included:

Music Committee. Dave reviewed the very well attended summer 2018 series. He also reported that Jan Kazienko, who has chaired the music committee for several years has resigned and Deidre Dolan will be the new chair. New committee members are always welcome so think about it and watch for meeting announcements later this year.

Library Committee: WCA vice president Connie Mattheson reported that in July, the Committee members presented a check to the Library Director and Board for $2,350, proceeds from the Books and Booze fundraiser for the Whitneyville Branch Library. The Committee will meet in October to make plans for this year’s events and to choose a new chair. Any new members are welcome.

Program: Dave introduced the program, noting that the Children’s Center is a very visible part of our community and yet many of us don’t really know what they do. He introduced Dan Lyga (Chief Executive Officer), and turned the program over to Dan. Dan introduced Cheryl Smith (Chief Operating Officer), Sarah Lockery (Director of Development and Community Relations) and Detective Stephen Rossacci (Hamden Police Department liaison to the Children’s Center).

Dan started with the history of the Children’s Center, showing the evolution of locations and services provided for the past 185 years:

1833: Began as an orphanage, New Haven Orphan Asylum, the first child caring facility in Connecticut;

1925: Moved to current location in Hamden;

1940’s-50’s: Added medical care for children with polio;

Served as adoption agency for a period of time;

1960’s – 1980’s: Added treatment for children with behavioral health and substance abuse issues: and

Cheryl provided more detail on the programs and services provided in recent years and helped us understand how the evolution of research and theories of treatment impact what services and programs the Center provides.

Currently (2018) has 47 beds and almost 100 served in day programs. This clearly demonstrates the shift from congregate care to day programs since 2005.

Currently there are nine discreet programs currently administered by the Children’s Center.

Program types vary from Clinical Day school, to Outpatient Substance Abuse to Crisis Stabilization and full Residential Treatment.

The number of clients, the age ranges, and the gender vary by program.

The average stay varies from 3 days to 12 months and one small group home serves adult women as long as needed.

The Center also offers a number of programs for the children in addition to treatment and school. These include culinary arts, music and a gardening/ healthy eating / farmers’ market activity.

Detective Rossacci explained his role as police liaison officer. He discussed his types of engagement and interaction with the children and the Center and clarified what the police can and cannot do:

Clarified laws regarding stopping juveniles. Per a 2005 law, staff at the Children’s Center are not allowed by law to physically restrain youth from leaving unless they are a threat to themselves or others. That is why people may see staff following a young person trying to convince them to return to the Center.

Shared broader juvenile justice problems seen statewide, including auto thefts related to gang activities and how police departments are responding.

The Children’s Center has been partnering with Hamden Police Department – assigning an additional officer in the neighborhood every evening starting at 6 pm. The officer checks in with the 24-hour onsite supervisor and is the first point of contact for any concerns from The Children’s Center or the 911 operator in Hamden.

Steve repeatedly encouraged everyone to call the police, any time you see something that doesn’t seem right – whether related to the Children’s Center or not.

Dan opened up the floor for questions and a very engaged audience responded. For almost an hour, Dan, Cheryl, Steve and Sarah answered questions. The conversation and discussions ranged from very specific questions about the Children’s Center of Hamden to the broader topics of children’s services and juvenile justice, nationally or at the State level in Connecticut.

Information was shared about Connecticut state departments that were, or are, involved including the Department of Children and Families (DCF) and the Division of Court Support Services (CSSD). The team explained how these are evolving at our State level and what has happened in the past year, what is happening now, what is not happening that should be.

The closing of Connecticut Juvenile Training School (CJTS) resulted in lack of locked juvenile facilities in the state. The State did not plan adequately before closing the facility. The responsibility shifted responsibility from DCF to CSSD.

The State issued a request for proposals (RFP) for private facilities to meet the need for approximately 60 beds. Only one response was received and it was not acceptable. The state is drafting a new RFP. Juveniles impacted currently held in prisons or are being referred to other programs across the state.

The Children’s Center did not submit an RFP. They do not have the appropriate facility for the population from CJTS or those juveniles requiring a locked facility. The Children’s Center does not plan to serve that population. In the interim, they have been asked to take clients and these will be considered on a case by case basis and will not be accepted until a full assessment has been completed.

What has the Children’s Center done in addition to the relationship with the police?

Instituted monthly meetings with community, police, and elected officials. (This meeting is one of the results of those meetings.)

Any time day or night, you can call the 24-hour Supervisor On Site at 203-627-2273.

Rossacci urged residents to call 911 if there is an immediate concern about crime (rather than the Children’s Center). “We’re here to serve you.”

Advocate for a full continuum of care at the state level. Speak to and write your legislators – state and local. “We know the economy is a huge issue, but how are we making sure our youth and our communities are safe?”

It was agreed that the meetings which include the Children’s Center, the police, community groups and local elected officials will continue. Information about the Children’s Center and advocacy opportunities will be shared by newsletters, on websites and social media and in future WCA meetings as necessary or appropriate.